Immortality Contest
The Immortality Contest was a competition devised by Origin to coincide with the initial release of Ultima VI, whereby a maximum of twenty winners would be given the opportunity to have their photograph rendered as a character portrait in the next installment of the series, Ultima VII.
Contest[edit]
The Immortality Contest ran for ten months from June 1, 1990 to March 31, 1991. An entry form (seen right) included in the Ultima VI box outlined the contest parameters: receiving one of ten clay runes (representing the Eight Virtues, plus Infinity and Singularity) would deem the owner an instant winner, while players who did not receive such a rune were welcomed to submit their form for a chance to win one of ten additional placements, personally selected monthly by series creator Richard Garriott. As Origin's Ultima VII design documents mention only thirteen contest winners, it appears most of the rune prizes were not claimed.[1]
Although primarily sought for Ultima VII, many unused submissions would later be included, with permission, in Ultima VII Part Two.[2][3]
Portraits[edit]
The following contest winners and submissions, several of whom are members of the Ultima Dragons, have been identified:
Ultima VII[edit]
- Bradman: Brad Neufeld[1]
- Csil: Jeffrey Abrams[1]
- Gladstone: David Gladstone[1]
- Greg: Greg Cato (Dindlefoot Dragon),[1] recipient of the Infinity rune
- Joseph: Joe Johnston[1]
- Kristy: Kristy Chamberlain[4]
- Lord Heather: Mark Davis[1]
- Lucy: Lucy Sarvis[1]
- Rayburt: Ray Burton[1]
- Seara: Kevin Stephens[1]
- Sir Jeff: Jeff Niles[1]
- Wench: Julie Shenton[1]
- Zella: Rich Zella[1]
Ultima VII Part Two[edit]
- Ensorcio: Jim Hammons (Umbrae Dragon)[5]
- Flindo: Joseph Lore (Chastain Dragon)[6]
- Harnna: Heather Raaf (Titania Dragon)[7]
- Petra: Melissa DelGuercio, née Cielock (Yosannah Dragon)[7]
- Rocco: Michael Pfeiffer[8]
Trivia[edit]
- In Ultima VII, Mandy alludes to the Immortality Contest by claiming Wench was given employment at the Baths after winning "some kind of competition".[9]
- Due to the highly inconsistent size of the runes in the games, the runes included with the contest are the only real indicator of what size they are truly supposed to be (fitting into a hand's palm).
Gallery[edit]
Greg Cato's winning Infinity rune and accompanying documentation
A closer look at the Infinity rune
External Links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Ultima VII: The Black Gate - Characters List. August 5, 1991.
- ↑ Kully, Kenneth. ““The Night the Directors Left.” – An Interview with Bill Armintrout”. The Ultima Codex. 2013-03-25. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
- ↑ rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons - U7 - SI - Petra: That's Melissa! - Bill Armintrout
- ↑ Letter of congratulations from Lord British; the winner was actually Kristy's brother
- ↑ rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons - Ultima VI
- ↑ Lore, Joseph. “Ultima Dragons Internet Chapter -==(UDIC)==-”. Facebook. 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons ?? Star in Ultima VII! ??
- ↑ Moonshade Plot Script by Bill Armintrout
- ↑ Mandy. Ultima VII Usecode. Ultima VII. "Wench".
